Surprise, surprise: Planned Parenthood doesn’t really care about pregnant women.
The abortion giant is in hot water for allegedly discriminating against their pregnant employees.
Ta’Lisa Hairston, an employee at a Planned Parenthood clinic in White Plains, NY, told the group’s Human Resources department that her pregnancy had caused high blood pressure and her nurse had ordered more frequent breaks to help alleviate the symptoms. Denying special accommodations for pregnant women amounts to discrimination under law.
But Hairston’s managers ignored the notes, and refused to give her additional rest time and even frequently denied her lunch breaks—often forcing her to spend entire 10-hour shifts on her feet.
As a result, Hairston’s health suffered—with her hands swelling to the point that they were too big for the clinic’s latex gloves, and her blood pressure continued to climb—eventually necessitating bed rest when she was seven months pregnant.
She returned to work on strict orders from her doctor to limit her shifts to six hours and to take regular breaks—but, once again, Planned Parenthood ignored the orders and Hairston became so sick that she required a second round of bed rest. Eventually, Hairston required an emergency C-section when she was 34 weeks pregnant.
Horrifyingly, Hairston’s not the only pregnant employee who suffered discrimination at the hands of Planned Parenthood.
The New York Times reports that “more than a dozen current and former employees” have accused the organization of “sidelining, ousting or otherwise handicapping pregnant employees.”
“In interviews and legal documents, women at Planned Parenthood and other organizations with a feminist bent described discrimination that violated federal or state laws — managers considering pregnancy in hiring decisions, for example, or denying rest breaks recommended by a doctor,” the Times wrote.
They added, “In other cases, the bias was more subtle. Many women said they were afraid to announce a pregnancy at work, sensing they would be seen as abandoning their colleagues.”
Hairston’s problems with Planned Parenthood didn’t end with her pregnancy: when she was eight weeks into maternity leave, barely two-thirds of the way into the legally-mandated 12 weeks, Planned Parenthood began harassing her by phone, demanding she return to work early.
Hairston eventually resigned her job.
“I didn’t get into the medical field to be treated like this,” she said.